Post defense: B. There’s a long list of stars Perkins slowed or flat out shut down this season: DeAndre Jordan, Derrick Favors, Tim Duncan, Roy Hibbert, Dwight Howard. There’s also a list of others that Perk got torched by: Nikola Pekovic. LaMarcus Aldridge, Joakim Noah. You can’t win ’em all. But Perk gave it a go. Can’t fault him when great offense wins over good defense. It happens. But Perkins was as steady as they come in the post. He held opponents to 34 percent shooting in the post and 25.9 percent shooting on isolations, according to Synergy Sports data. In those same situations, Defensive Player of the Year winner Joakim Noah this season yielded 40.7 percent and 38.5 percent.

Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins (5) reacts after making a basket late in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. Oklahoma City won 105-97. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, The Oklahoman

Rebounding: C. The dip in raw production in this area coincided with the dip in Perk’s minutes. He averaged nearly six less minutes than he did a year ago, and largely because of that his rebounds per game fell from six to 4.9. But it was quietly one of Perk’s better seasons on the glass. He averaged 9.1 boards per 36 minutes and finished with a rebounding percentage of 14.2 percent, his highest totals since his debut season with the Thunder. Unable to get off the ground like he once did, Perk also is focusing more on boxing out his man so a teammate can get the rebound. With all that being said, you never want your starting center to rank fourth on the team in rebounding, especially when No. 2 and No. 3 is the small forward and point guard.

Postseason: B. Perk bounced back great from last year’s disappointing postseason. He was a defensive presence in the post, an improved rebounder and, at times, a surprisingly reliable source of offense, mostly in the Memphis series. With matchups that were tailor made for him, Perkins became one of the most pivotal players on the Thunder’s roster in the playoffs due to his ability to defend Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in one round, DeAndre Jordan in the next and Tim Duncan in the West Finals. He wasn’t always succeed. But more often than not, Perk made most of his matchups work much harder for everything they got.

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by Darnell Mayberry

OKC Thunder Senior Reporter

Darnell Mayberry grew up in Langston, Okla. and is now in his third stint in the Sooner state. After a year and a half at Bishop McGuinness High, he finished his prep years in Falls Church, Va., before graduating from Norfolk State University in...